What are you actually basing that on? Would love to know, considering Stepan has had 17 and 21 goal seasons to this point, and he went from 45 to 51 points in his two years here, as a 20 and 21 year old.

High intelligence and passing skill is definitely enough for some players. Especially when you add in solid two-way play. There have been players of his type before that have succeeded in the NHL, and have been key players for a long time. Players like Marc Savard, Paul Stastny, and Brad Richards.

I am basing it on a gut feeling; nothing more and nothing less.
Btw, Stepan is not on the same planet with the three players you mentioned!